GOOD FRIDAY
Meditation | Deacon Alan
Liturgy | Deacon Alan & Barbara
Intro & Outro | Pastor Dan
Songs | Walk With Faith, Aaron Shust,
Annie & Renaud
This most somber of all days is appropriately marked by fasting, abstinence, and penitence, leading us to focus on Jesus and the meaning of his Cross.
Some churches do not use musical instruments or bells on this day. The church is often darkened. The bare, stark appearance of the church serves as a reminder of the solemnity and the sorrow of the day.
The Lord of Life was rejected, mocked, scourged, and then put to death on the Cross. The faithful are reminded of the role which their own sin played in this suffering and agony, as Christ took all sin upon himself, in obedience to his Father’s will.
By the Cross we are redeemed, set free from bondage to sin and death. The Cross is a sign of God’s never-ending love for us. It is a sign of life, in the midst of death.
How Beautiful / When I survey the Wondrous Cross
ADVISORY | Contains some graphic scenes from the Scourging & Crucifixion.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned every one to his own way,
And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
– ISAIAH 53:6
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we beseech you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the Cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
PSALM 22
A Reading from Psalm 22.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,
And are so far from my cry, and from the words of my complaint?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear;
In the night season also, but I find no rest.
But you remain holy,
Enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our fathers hoped in you;
They trusted in you, and you delivered them.
They called upon you, and were delivered;
They put their trust in you, and were not confounded.
But as for me, I am a worm, and no man,
Scorned by all, and the outcast of the people.
All those who see me laugh me to scorn;
They curl their lips, and shake their heads, saying,
“He trusted in God, that he would deliver him;
Let him deliver him, if he will have him.”
But you are he that took me out of my mother’s womb;
You were my hope, when I was yet upon my mother’s breasts.
I have been cast upon you ever since I was born;
You are my God, even from my mother’s womb.
O go not far from me, for trouble is near at hand,
And there is none to help me.
Many oxen have come around me;
Fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.
They gape at me with their mouths,
Like a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint;
My heart also in the midst of my body is like melting wax.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my gums,
And you bring me into the dust of death.
For many dogs have come about me,
And the council of the wicked lays siege against me.
They pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones;
They stand staring and looking upon me.
They part my garments among them,
And casts lots for my clothing.
But be not far from me, O Lord.
You are my succor; hasten to help me.
Deliver my soul from the sword,
My life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth,
And my soul in misery from among the horns of wild oxen.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Matthew 27:33-46 (ESV)
And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Meditation
Deacon Alan Arnold
Closing Hymn | Were You there?
Verse 1
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
O sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Verse 2
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
O sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Verse 3
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
O sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Verse 4
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
O sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray you to set your passion, Cross, and death between your judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living; peace and rest to the dead; to your holy Church unity and concord; and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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